Literature
You recently published a short story collection, Hoodlums, centred on the violence rocking the country. What inspired the theme of the collection?
Sumaila Umaisha: The collection was inspired by, as you put it, the violence rocking the country. I probably would have written on a different theme if I were not living in the 21st century Nigeria where violence seems to be the order of the day, where bomb blasts, kidnappings and wanton corruption are threatening to undermine our nationhood. Specifically, the collection was motivated by the ethno-religious riots in the Northern part of the country, such as the Kaduna and Jos crises, the armed struggle in the Niger Delta, the phenomenon of political Godfatherism, and so on. I have witnessed about three riots since I came to Kaduna in 1993, and even though I?ve not been directly affected, as a journalist and writer, I was in a vantage position to assess the destruction, the deaths, the misery and the damage to the human psyche. It is this pathetic situation that Hoodlums seeks to paint.
In the title story of the collection, you wove a tale of the unusual treatment of two journalists covering the Kaduna crisis by the police. Was this borne out of a true experience?
As I have already implied, the collection is not a memoir or report on actual happenings. It is a creative version of the happenings. In the art of writing there is what is called ?real imagination?, where the writer directly reproduces his personal or interpersonal experiences, and there is ?creative imagination?, where the writer pieces together his various knowledge and experiences, personal and interpersonal, to bring into being something new ? an innovative picture that reflects the reality. To answer your question, therefore, I will say ?Hoodlums? is not borne out of true experience; I was never involved with the police in the cause of my reporting the riots. All that the writer?s imagination needs is the atmosphere and the stories making the round. The atmosphere was there; you could at times hear gunshots and see dark smoke against the horizon. Some times you even narrowly escape being lynched. All these and the stories of misery widely related by victims converged to fire up the imagination.
Do you think journalists in Nigeria tend to incite the flames of violence in the country?
I wouldn?t say all journalists in Nigeria incite the flames of violence. But certainly some journalists allow their personal opinions and interests to interfere with their editorial judgement, thereby inadvertently escalating the crisis. Not just the journalists, some media owners are also guilty of this. You can easily guess the ownership of a newspaper, TV or radio station through its editorial or news contents, because they are usually tailored towards shoring up a particular region, religion or political affiliation. Propaganda through the mass media has unfortunately become a global practice where professional ethics is shamelessly sacrificed on the altar of personal or group interests that are often parochial. The case of Nigeria seems to be the worst, as some journalists even engage in sensational reporting just for the fun of it. In the story, ?Hoodlums? you could see how Ben rounded up a death toll recorded in a riot from 450 to 500 just to thrill his readers! Nigerian journalists are like Nigerian leaders, some of them hardly think about the consequences of their actions. This is very unfortunate because such insensitivity not only heats up the polity, but if unchecked, it could snowball into a time bomb that would eventually break up this nation. So the story is a call on my colleagues to retrace their steps back to the good old responsible journalism that the likes of Dr. Azikiwe used to fight for the independence of this country. They should bear in mind that we owe this country a moral obligation to ensure its unity and progress.
You also focused on domestic violence and a descent into insanity in one of the stories, ?The King Himself?; are you trying to tell us to what extent violence is prevalent in our society, within and outside the home?
That is the message; violence is everywhere, including the home. In fact, the genesis of the perennial conflicts across the country could be traced to the home. The family being the nucleus of the society, the moral standard of the society is generally determined by that of the family. In a house where the couple attack each other physically or psychologically, the children are very likely to copy the behaviour, thinking it is normal. It is even worse where the children themselves are abused and deprived of parental love and care. Such children may grow up bitter and aggressive. They are always waiting for an opportunity to take it out on the society. In fact, lawless homes cannot but produce a lawless society. And a lawless society can only produce lawless leaders. That is why it is unrealistic to blame our leaders alone for the ills of this country; almost everybody is guilty. We must cleanse ourselves, beginning from our individual homes.
What have been the challenges you have dealt with in bringing out this collection?
The first challenge was finding the time to write the stories. Many a times I would start a story only to stop half-way because of other activities; to make ends meet. Sometimes I spent a whole month writing just one short story, even though there were always other story ideas waiting to be developed. But I eventually rose to the challenge by creating a short story sub-column in my literary column in the New Nigerian newspaper and ran my short stories on weekly basis. This compelled me to write stories regularly in order to keep the column going. I did this for a year and at the end produced many stories. This collection, Hoodlums, is the first of the two collections of short stories I produced from the exercise. The second one will soon be published, insha Allah. So, writing requires self-discipline. ?Waiting for inspiration? or ?suffering from writer?s block? are excuses only for lazy writers. You just have to get up and go!
Another challenge was publishing. As you know, getting publishers to publish you in the traditional way based on royalties is not easy these days, especially in this country. Even the old renowned writers, some of them now engage in self-publishing. So I had to do self-publishing after waiting in vain for the opportunity get published the traditional way. But I hope to succeed in my next attempt with the second collection.
We agree that Hoodlums is thematically apt, do you consider it an artistic triumph?
I think critics are in the best position to answer that question. The few reviews that have been published on the collection so far tend to portray it as a good attempt. The reviewers did comparative analysis with other works and came out with encouraging comments. Some are impressed by my handling of delicate issues like religion and ethnicity without being sentimental or judgmental. Others have also pointed out that my background as a journalist has affected my narrative style both positively and negatively ? the stories are told in simple metaphor, but some parts are too journalistic. There is always plus and minus. So, like I said, critics are the better judges in this matter.
If you were to write the entire collection all over again, what would you do differently and what would you retain?
This is like asking me, if I were to speak again would I speak with the same voice? Of course, everyone?s voice is unique to him, and so is writing style. No matter how hard a writer tries, he cannot write in the style of another writer. Therefore, I guess, if I were to write the entire collection again, I would write it in the same manner. Maybe, I might be less journalistic...but journalism has become a part of me, having being in it for about twenty years.
How will the experience of putting this collection together affect your future works?
It will affect them positively. With the collection already in the market and doing well, I might be able to convince publishers to take on my next work.
(c) Published in Sunday Trust newspaper.
- Bound To Violence
Reviewed by Denja Abdullahi Hoodlums, a collection of 17 short stories of varying length, is a much awaited work from the author, Sumaila Umaisha. For well over a decade, his stories have been read on the literary pages of major Nigerian newspapers,...
- Rhythm Of Fear And Violence In Umaisha?s Hoodlums
Reviewed by Isaac Attah Ogezi In the late 1980s, Achebe, in his timeless classic, The Trouble with Nigeria, classified Nigeria as one of the most unsafe places to live in the world today. Daily events in the country have made this assertion truer in...
- Umaisha And Omalicha Offer November Treat In Abuja
Two emerging writers, Sumaila Umaisha and Ifeyinwa Omalicha, will feature at the 28th edition of the Abuja Writers? Forum?s Guest Writer Session, which holds on November 27, according to the Forum?s PRO, Abudullahi Abubakar: The event, which holds from...
- Hoodlums: Portrait Of A Crisis-ridden Nation
Title of book: Hoodlums Author: Sumaila Umaisha Number of pages: 110 Publishers: Hybun Publication International Date of publication: 2010 Price: N500 Reviewer: Yahaya Ibrahim Over the years, protest writing has become the focal point for many Nigerian...
- Hoodlums: Long Stories In Short Captivating Tales
Ahmed Dodo?s review of Hoodlums (a collection of short stories) by Sumaila Umaisha, published by Hybun, 2010, pages - 110. If there is one thing I have always loved in a good story, is the ability of the writer to intelligently weave a long story into...
Literature
Writer's block is excuse for lazy writers
You recently published a short story collection, Hoodlums, centred on the violence rocking the country. What inspired the theme of the collection?
Sumaila Umaisha: The collection was inspired by, as you put it, the violence rocking the country. I probably would have written on a different theme if I were not living in the 21st century Nigeria where violence seems to be the order of the day, where bomb blasts, kidnappings and wanton corruption are threatening to undermine our nationhood. Specifically, the collection was motivated by the ethno-religious riots in the Northern part of the country, such as the Kaduna and Jos crises, the armed struggle in the Niger Delta, the phenomenon of political Godfatherism, and so on. I have witnessed about three riots since I came to Kaduna in 1993, and even though I?ve not been directly affected, as a journalist and writer, I was in a vantage position to assess the destruction, the deaths, the misery and the damage to the human psyche. It is this pathetic situation that Hoodlums seeks to paint.
In the title story of the collection, you wove a tale of the unusual treatment of two journalists covering the Kaduna crisis by the police. Was this borne out of a true experience?
As I have already implied, the collection is not a memoir or report on actual happenings. It is a creative version of the happenings. In the art of writing there is what is called ?real imagination?, where the writer directly reproduces his personal or interpersonal experiences, and there is ?creative imagination?, where the writer pieces together his various knowledge and experiences, personal and interpersonal, to bring into being something new ? an innovative picture that reflects the reality. To answer your question, therefore, I will say ?Hoodlums? is not borne out of true experience; I was never involved with the police in the cause of my reporting the riots. All that the writer?s imagination needs is the atmosphere and the stories making the round. The atmosphere was there; you could at times hear gunshots and see dark smoke against the horizon. Some times you even narrowly escape being lynched. All these and the stories of misery widely related by victims converged to fire up the imagination.
Do you think journalists in Nigeria tend to incite the flames of violence in the country?
I wouldn?t say all journalists in Nigeria incite the flames of violence. But certainly some journalists allow their personal opinions and interests to interfere with their editorial judgement, thereby inadvertently escalating the crisis. Not just the journalists, some media owners are also guilty of this. You can easily guess the ownership of a newspaper, TV or radio station through its editorial or news contents, because they are usually tailored towards shoring up a particular region, religion or political affiliation. Propaganda through the mass media has unfortunately become a global practice where professional ethics is shamelessly sacrificed on the altar of personal or group interests that are often parochial. The case of Nigeria seems to be the worst, as some journalists even engage in sensational reporting just for the fun of it. In the story, ?Hoodlums? you could see how Ben rounded up a death toll recorded in a riot from 450 to 500 just to thrill his readers! Nigerian journalists are like Nigerian leaders, some of them hardly think about the consequences of their actions. This is very unfortunate because such insensitivity not only heats up the polity, but if unchecked, it could snowball into a time bomb that would eventually break up this nation. So the story is a call on my colleagues to retrace their steps back to the good old responsible journalism that the likes of Dr. Azikiwe used to fight for the independence of this country. They should bear in mind that we owe this country a moral obligation to ensure its unity and progress.
You also focused on domestic violence and a descent into insanity in one of the stories, ?The King Himself?; are you trying to tell us to what extent violence is prevalent in our society, within and outside the home?
That is the message; violence is everywhere, including the home. In fact, the genesis of the perennial conflicts across the country could be traced to the home. The family being the nucleus of the society, the moral standard of the society is generally determined by that of the family. In a house where the couple attack each other physically or psychologically, the children are very likely to copy the behaviour, thinking it is normal. It is even worse where the children themselves are abused and deprived of parental love and care. Such children may grow up bitter and aggressive. They are always waiting for an opportunity to take it out on the society. In fact, lawless homes cannot but produce a lawless society. And a lawless society can only produce lawless leaders. That is why it is unrealistic to blame our leaders alone for the ills of this country; almost everybody is guilty. We must cleanse ourselves, beginning from our individual homes.
What have been the challenges you have dealt with in bringing out this collection?
The first challenge was finding the time to write the stories. Many a times I would start a story only to stop half-way because of other activities; to make ends meet. Sometimes I spent a whole month writing just one short story, even though there were always other story ideas waiting to be developed. But I eventually rose to the challenge by creating a short story sub-column in my literary column in the New Nigerian newspaper and ran my short stories on weekly basis. This compelled me to write stories regularly in order to keep the column going. I did this for a year and at the end produced many stories. This collection, Hoodlums, is the first of the two collections of short stories I produced from the exercise. The second one will soon be published, insha Allah. So, writing requires self-discipline. ?Waiting for inspiration? or ?suffering from writer?s block? are excuses only for lazy writers. You just have to get up and go!
Another challenge was publishing. As you know, getting publishers to publish you in the traditional way based on royalties is not easy these days, especially in this country. Even the old renowned writers, some of them now engage in self-publishing. So I had to do self-publishing after waiting in vain for the opportunity get published the traditional way. But I hope to succeed in my next attempt with the second collection.
We agree that Hoodlums is thematically apt, do you consider it an artistic triumph?
I think critics are in the best position to answer that question. The few reviews that have been published on the collection so far tend to portray it as a good attempt. The reviewers did comparative analysis with other works and came out with encouraging comments. Some are impressed by my handling of delicate issues like religion and ethnicity without being sentimental or judgmental. Others have also pointed out that my background as a journalist has affected my narrative style both positively and negatively ? the stories are told in simple metaphor, but some parts are too journalistic. There is always plus and minus. So, like I said, critics are the better judges in this matter.
If you were to write the entire collection all over again, what would you do differently and what would you retain?
This is like asking me, if I were to speak again would I speak with the same voice? Of course, everyone?s voice is unique to him, and so is writing style. No matter how hard a writer tries, he cannot write in the style of another writer. Therefore, I guess, if I were to write the entire collection again, I would write it in the same manner. Maybe, I might be less journalistic...but journalism has become a part of me, having being in it for about twenty years.
How will the experience of putting this collection together affect your future works?
It will affect them positively. With the collection already in the market and doing well, I might be able to convince publishers to take on my next work.
(c) Published in Sunday Trust newspaper.
- Bound To Violence
Reviewed by Denja Abdullahi Hoodlums, a collection of 17 short stories of varying length, is a much awaited work from the author, Sumaila Umaisha. For well over a decade, his stories have been read on the literary pages of major Nigerian newspapers,...
- Rhythm Of Fear And Violence In Umaisha?s Hoodlums
Reviewed by Isaac Attah Ogezi In the late 1980s, Achebe, in his timeless classic, The Trouble with Nigeria, classified Nigeria as one of the most unsafe places to live in the world today. Daily events in the country have made this assertion truer in...
- Umaisha And Omalicha Offer November Treat In Abuja
Two emerging writers, Sumaila Umaisha and Ifeyinwa Omalicha, will feature at the 28th edition of the Abuja Writers? Forum?s Guest Writer Session, which holds on November 27, according to the Forum?s PRO, Abudullahi Abubakar: The event, which holds from...
- Hoodlums: Portrait Of A Crisis-ridden Nation
Title of book: Hoodlums Author: Sumaila Umaisha Number of pages: 110 Publishers: Hybun Publication International Date of publication: 2010 Price: N500 Reviewer: Yahaya Ibrahim Over the years, protest writing has become the focal point for many Nigerian...
- Hoodlums: Long Stories In Short Captivating Tales
Ahmed Dodo?s review of Hoodlums (a collection of short stories) by Sumaila Umaisha, published by Hybun, 2010, pages - 110. If there is one thing I have always loved in a good story, is the ability of the writer to intelligently weave a long story into...